Heavy Agenda at Moraga School District Meeting

The is hiring a consultant to assess whether to pursue a parcel tax for the November ballot. Noting that Measure K in 2004 passed by only a handful of votes without the aid of consultant, the school board considered the merits of a consultant.

“We should consider the views of the entire community before we make decisions about whether or not to go out for a parcel tax and, if we do, how it should be structured,” Kathy Ranstrom said, adding that the last time the community was polled about a potential parcel tax was in 1998. "In 2004, we did not use a consultant and had a very close vote. I don’t think we know what the community is thinking.”

“It takes tremendous volunteer effort to run a parcel-tax campaign," Ranstrom continued. "When you do a survey, you hear from the whole community. It reflects the values of the wider community, not just the parents.”

The contract with The Center for Community Opinion, is not to exceed $30,000.

The board also received an update on the design of the Camino Pablo field from Callander Associates. The field upgrade is a joint town and district project, funded exclusively by Measure WW dollars.

“The goal is to make the field more quickly playable,” said Matt Gruber, representing the design group. “We want to increase durability and playability.”

The construction project should unfold over the summer, with the fields being cleared off and graded. Drainage will be significantly improved and the irrigation system completely replaced.

The new field will have a six-foot wide perimeter path surrounding the field. New backstops, bleachers for spectators and 60-foot base paths will be installed.

Jay Ingram, director of Parks and Recreation for the Town of Moraga, stated that the project “comes very close” to consuming all of the funds available from Measure WW.  All local sports user groups have vetted the field plan.

The longest discussion of the night surrounded the anti-bullying policy. Board members wanted a clearer definition of bullying. In addition, they questioned whether proposed language was too restrictive. In particular, board members were uncomfortable with the concept of bullying being a repeated act.

“Can bullying be a single act?” asked board president Dennis Kelleher, “I think it can.”

Superintendent Bruce Burns noted that there are dozens of definitions of bullying. Kym Leserman suggested using information from the recent parent education night on anti-bullying, covered on Lamorinda Patch . After further discussion, the board sent the policy back to the management team, suggesting language should not be restrictive, but provide general guidelines of unacceptable behavior.

In other business, the board received an update on the financial operations of the after-school clubs from Harriet Kantor, child-care director at Los Perales. Kantor focused on cost-cutting measures – including furlough days and salary reductions -- enacted by the child-care clubs and flexibility added to make the clubs more useful to parents.

Currently, all child-care clubs are operating at a slight profit, projecting a profit of $26,000 at the end of the year. Fifty seven percent of Moraga school district students are registered at the after-care clubs. Kathy Bell, chief business officer, added her analysis that the clubs were hard to predict given the fluctuations in usage over prior years. However, income has increased this year. 

The board also approved a 10 percent increase in fees for use of school district properties, effective in July. Members also accepted the Moraga Teachers’ Association proposal to reopen sections of the collective bargaining unit. Specifically, salary and benefits, calendar, teaching hours and leaves and absences are under discussion. 

The board voted to give notice to four temporary teachers for the 2001-12 school year. These teacher were hired under temporary contract to “serve in place of teacher on leave, specially funded positions or teachers who were sharing positions,” according the agenda item analysis.

Should layoffs be required, the board approved tie-breaking criteria to help determine the order of layoffs if teachers were hired on the same day.

 Burns closed the evening with an update on the budget outlook, which you can read more about on Lamorinda Patch . The outlook is fluid, but if Proposition 98 is suspended, cutbacks may be even more severe. For now, the district continues to plan for a $349 cutback per student.